


Siblings of Sieg

by Xygdrasil



Category: Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones
Genre: Gen, Overprotective, Post-War, Sparring
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-15
Updated: 2020-05-15
Packaged: 2021-03-03 01:28:22
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,430
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24206707
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Xygdrasil/pseuds/Xygdrasil
Summary: Eyes filled with determination and resolve, something he inherently knew she had in her, yet something he had not foolishly faced head on with before, with her sacred blade aiming straight for him. The war had forced her to awaken to this side of her, and only now was he able to see it for himself despite having fought side by side with her.
Kudos: 3





	Siblings of Sieg

**Author's Note:**

> My submission for Kith & Kin - FE Families Zine!

"I don't think this is a good idea after all. Perhaps we should send someone else. Anyone else would do." Eirika had half a mind to slam the door shut in her brother's face as he continued to show his disapproval of the coming trip she was to take. She was sure to show him her annoyance clearly on her face as she moved to close the door. However, Ephraim was already nudging his body through, his larger frame pushing back against the wooden door. "Come now, Eirika. You don't mean to be away as the festivities for the restoration are being set up, do you?"

"Festivities or no, I must go." The Lady of Restoration responded in annoyance, abruptly moving away from the door. The sudden lack of force fighting back against him caused Ephraim to stumble slightly, an exasperated look on his face as he steadied himself and walked further into her room. "Why do you worry so, Brother? Renais is all but restored, and the peace between the kingdoms are stronger than ever." She opened the curtains on the opposite side as she spoke, allowing the first rays of the rising sun to bathe the room in light. Ephraim stood in the dark corners of the room where the sunlight could not reach, watching as light cascaded on Eirika in contrast. A silence filled the air as the two stood perfectly still: One squinting her eyes against the brightness as the other watched her with a frown. Ephraim tore his eyes away to look down at his palm for a moment. He turned it into a fist, clenching it tight enough to turn his knuckles white. 

"I suppose it is about time we had that spar." Ephraim finally said, breaking the silence. Eirika turned away from the window to raise an eyebrow at him. "You made rapid progress during your training throughout the war. So much so, that I believe you could give even me some trouble in a sparring match. Why don't we do that right now?"

"Right now?" Eirika echoed, tilting her head to the side in confusion. "What has possessed you to suddenly suggest sparring?" Ephraim silently left the room, refusing to answer her question or look her way. "Brother? Tana will be here shortly..." 

Eirika found herself standing before Ephraim in front of the castle, Sieglinde drawn as he casually hefted Siegmund over his shoulder. After a moment, he brandished the sacred twin lance, the end of it pointing towards Eirika.

"My dear sister. You fought well in the war to help bring peace to our land. However, it would be naïve of you to believe that there is not danger that still yet lurks in times of peace. The war's damage has likely reached lands that we are not aware of and lands that we could not hope to help from here." He readied his stance. "There will still be bandits and people with ill intent. There may even be someone else scheming and planning in the background, ready to end the peace once more as soon as the opportunity arises." Ephraim charged straight for Eirika, giving his sister no time to question or react other than to block his lance with her blade. "Show me your strength and resolve, my dear sister. If you wish to traverse the land to provide succor to those ravaged by the war, then I will have you show me that you can at least ensure that you have the strength to do so."

"Bro-" Eirika's cry was immediately cut off as she blocked another strike from the lance that danced with flames. It flared around her and tried to engulf her, trying to overwhelm her into submission as she parried each strike with lightning precision. It was as though bolts pelted from the overcast sky, disrupting the flame's flow and dispersing them. Their sacred weapons found each other at every strike. They danced around each other, both determined to win, yet both not wanting to hurt the other. The King of Restoration was surprised, despite having personally fought side by side with her before. He could not help but remember, even during this intense spar, the first time she had picked up a blade under his guidance. How much she struggled to do even the basics, and how little she had in resolve to strike someone down in fear of hurting them, even if it meant her life. He recalled how worried he became about teaching her the blade as this became more and more evident as he continued to train her. However, she had improved much since then, and he could feel himself beginning to perspire in spite of that. Ephraim tried to overwhelm Eirika once more, this time using his weapon's length as an advantage to keep some distance while still striking.

However, Eirika knew better than to play with his fire. She quickly closed the distance, deflecting the sacred lance as she maneuvered towards him. Effectively deflecting the lance and pushing it to the side, Eirika pulled her arm back to ready the finishing strike that would earn her victory. Ephraim, trying to regain control over his deflected weapon, could not help but be bewildered as a glint in Eirika's eyes came into his focus. Eyes filled with determination and resolve, something he inherently knew she had in her, yet something he had not foolishly faced head on with before, with her sacred blade aiming straight for him. The war had forced her to awaken to this side of her, and only now was he able to see it for himself despite having fought side by side with her.

"To see such eyes before the strike comes..." Ephraim thought, gritting his teeth as he barely managed to pull Siegmund in close enough to deflect Sieglinde from grievously wounding him. Sieglinde's edge grazed Ephraim, a trickle of blood dripping down his cheek from the shallow cut. Upon seeing the blood dripping down his face, Eirika lost her focus, hesitating to move. The hesitation did not escape the experienced Ephraim's sharp eyes, taking that opportunity to easily knock Sieglinde from her hands. The blade spun in the air before clattering on the ground. Before she could even finish her startled cry, Ephraim flipped Siegmund around and tapped her outreached hand with the hilt.

"You can't lose your gu-"

"Brother! I'm so sorry!" Eirika cut him off, pushing aside his arm that held onto Siegmund and rushing to cup his face in her hands. She wiped away at the blood, frantically searching for the vulnerary she kept on herself. When she finally retrieved the bag of herbs, Ephraim let out an amused sigh and pushed the bag away as she insisted he use it.

"Eirika, you just grazed me. There's no need to waste any medicine on me. We've both been hurt far worse than this." At first, the tone of his voice was amused. But as he mentioned the wounds they had bore throughout the war, an edge crept in, until all amusement vanished from both face and tone. "Eirika..." A dark look crossed his face as he looked to the ground, his grip tightening on his lance. "With your help, I have become a trusted, reliable king to the fair people of Renais. However, just as easily, I could become broken, desperate, and sinister if something were to happen to you where I could not reach you. I-"

"Ephraim." The Restoration King looked up as he felt her cup his cheek to face her. A smile crossed her face as she began stroking his face, just as he had done for her many times when they were younger, and once before on the battlefield. Growing red in the face with embarrassment, Ephraim opened his mouth to protest, but was immediately stopped by his twin sister. "We are in a time of peace. And even if there are those lurking in the shadows with ill intent, I am not the naive princess you had known before. I will deal with them accordingly along with Tana and her pegasus knights." As though the mere mention had summoned them, sounds of wings flapping grew louder, until it was all that could be heard as a group of pegasus knights descended.

"Hey, you two!" A familiar, friendly voice rang out. Among the knights who were getting off of their pegasus, a dark blue-haired knight with a high ponytail squeezed her way between the pegasus and rushed out to the twins. Before either of them could react, Eirika was enveloped in a tight hug, smothered by her best friend.

"Tana!" Eirika exclaimed, reciprocating the hug. Ephraim eased out of his stiff stance, planting the hilt down to lean some of his weight against. It took a moment before the two finally disentangled from each other and beamed. Tana turned her attention to Ephraim to greet him. However, she noticed the abandoned Sieglinde, the sweat that glistened on the twins' foreheads, and the blood that was drying on Ephraim's cheek.

"Did you two have a fight? And Ephraim lost?" Tana asked, comparing the two and deciding that Ephraim's cut was proof of his loss.

"Ah, that's right-!" Eirika pulled herself away from Tana to turn to Ephraim, who let out an amused huff and raised his free hand to stop her.

"I'm all right. We were just sparring. I wanted to see if she could handle herself out there."

"Of course she can! Without Eirika, where would any of us be? Where would Magvel have been if not for her?" Tana exclaimed, pulling Eirika back into a hug, who let out a surprised sound. "And from how you seem before I interrupted, I would say that Eirika was able to keep herself up with you, if not best you." She continued, letting out a huff as she turned and dragged Eirika along with her to the pegasus.

Ephraim stood still, his face turning from surprise to an amused smile. He could not deny Tana's words. Though his dear sister would not admit that herself, everything Tana had voiced was true. Their spar had spoken more than the words they could have exchanged between them. He knew that she could handle herself with the way they moved together. He could tell by the shift in her eyes when she knew that she had to win. He knew when her blade struck him and the reluctance she had to hurt someone dear to her. For her to provide the succor the people of Magvel needed yet keep herself out of harm's way, she had to be able to do both.

Ephraim watched as Eirika looked between him and the back of Tana as she dragged her away, a flustered look on her face as she tried to say something, but couldn't find the words to. Finally, she dug her greaves into the ground, forcing Tana to stop in her tracks. Eirika took a deep breath before Ephraim was met with the same determined, resolved eyes he had witnessed earlier in their spar. 

"I cannot bear to relive the day Father was taken from us, Brother." Eirika began, a tinge of sadness in the tone of her voice, causing it to waver slightly. "Weak and powerless. I was taken away by Seth to flee for my life, at the cost of Father's. At the cost of Renais." She forced back her tears, instead steeling herself as she continued to keep her gaze on Ephraim. "I could not stay weak, so I fought. However, I won't forget that helplessness. I refuse to go back to that princess who could only cry as the blade struck her father, her people, and her allies down. I wish to become the blade that aids those who feel that same sense of helplessness. Help them rise so stand strong and fight back, as I was able to."

Eirika pulled herself slightly away from Tana so that they were linked only by their hands. She stepped towards Ephraim, who remained silent as he continued to witness the woman that his sister had become. The woman he failed to acknowledge because he had been too overprotective. His sister had changed so much during the war, and though he would outwardly agree to it, he knew that deep within he still saw her as the same little girl as she was before she had picked up the blade under his guidance. However, he was forced to acknowledge the foolishness of his overprotectiveness as she held her gaze, freezing him in place. After a moment of silence, Ephraim could not help but laugh, much to Eirika's frustration.

"For you to laugh-"

"Forgive me, my dear sister. You are right." The King of Renais began to wind down his laughter, wiping at the cut on his cheek. "You have grown up. I'm sorry to have placed so little faith in the strength you built during that time." Satisfied with his answer, Tana climbed back onto her pegasus and helped Eirika onto the back. As they situated themselves, Ephraim walked over, handing Sieglinde over to Eirika as he hefted Siegmund over his shoulder. The twins smiled at each other. A sense of relief from Eirika, and a bittersweet feeling from Ephraim. As all the pegasus knights prepared to fly back into the air after a short reprieve thanks to their talk, Ephraim reached over to place a hand on Eirika's, catching her attention.

"Brother? What is it?" Eirika tilted her head to the side as he was silent for a moment, as if searching for words. Finally, he raised his head to look at her, and-

"Still, be careful out there. Don't stay up too late. Don't overwork yourself. Make sure you drink plenty of water and get enough to eat. Don't go wandering alone, and absolutely don't wander off with a stra-"

"For heaven's sake, Brother! That's enough!" Eirika's face turned red as she forcefully moved her hand away from him, instead clinging onto Tana's back, who could only sigh at the twin's antics. "I am only heading to Grado to check on their restoration! I will be no longer than a week! Tana, let's go!"

Tana couldn't help but laugh as she and the pegasus knights lifted off, leaving behind the overprotective, doting King to watch in bitter resignation as they took away his sister, who clung onto Tana as she tried to hide her face behind her back.

"Honestly… What am I going to do with that brother of mine?"

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Don't forget to check out the rest of the free digital zine @HyphenZines!


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